BLOOD DONATIONS AND THE CORONAVIRUS

[update 08/03/2022] Face masks are no longer mandatory for our donors.

No. We do not screen for the coronavirus. There are no known cases whereby a respiratory infection is transmitted through the blood. We do not perform screening tests by taking swabs.

Yes, but only from 14 days after all the symptoms have disappeared.

Wait for 14 days after the date of the test if you are not showing any symptoms.

If you are showing symptoms that are compatible with a SARS-CoV2 infection without a test: postpone your donation at least until the symptoms have ended. The wait can be longer, depending of the case.

- You will need to wait for 48 hours to come and donate blood if you are otherwise in good health.
- You will need to wait for 7 days after the symptoms have disappeared, if you showed symptoms immediately after having received vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 

This 2-day time span after you have been vaccinated acts as a kind of buffer period. If you come in to donate blood right after you have been given your jab and you are not feeling well or you are running a temperature, this means we are forced to destroy your donation as a precaution. The fact of the matter is we can never be 100% certain if this feverish condition is related to the vaccination or whether it is a sign of something else. Beyond this 2-day time span, it is not very likely that you would still experience any secondary effects from the vaccine. In doing so, we are driving down the number of lab test reports of blood samples that carry infections shortly after donation as well as the number of donations we are required to destroy as a precaution.  
The 7-day time span after any symptoms have disappeared applies because it is impossible for us to know with any degree of certainty whether these symptoms are  brought on by a coronavirus infection or by a different infection. If you are absolutely certain that you have been infected with the coronavirus - by way of a positive COVID-19 test, for example – you need to wait for 17 days until after you have fully recovered in order to be allowed to safely donate blood, plasma or platelets.   
 

When you donate blood, plasma or platelets, you are also donating some of the antibodies produced by your body after you have been vaccinated. This does not in any way reduce the efficacy of your vaccine. The number of antibodies in the blood collected is minuscule compared to the number of antibodies in your plasma at that moment. Moreover, the human body has other immune cells which accelerate the production of new antibodies, in the event you have been exposed to the virus. In other words, you remain fully protected at all times against a possible infection with the coronavirus.  

No, the coronavirus vaccines that are administered in our country do not contain any pathogenic live viruses. You may rest assured that at no point your body will have any active viral particles after a coronavirus vaccine was administered to the donors. This means donor blood products are completely safe and without any risk to the recipients.  

Nowadays we have a very good understanding of the flu vaccines, which come with relatively few side effects. The various types of vaccines used against COVID-19 are new, which means we are less familiar with them. Also, we have found that they tend to come with side effects more often. In order to keep the amount of blood products we may need to destroy down to the bare minimum, we decided to put in place a 2-day buffer period.

A warm thank to all donors who accepted to give their plasma after recovering from COVID 19.
We now have enough COVID plasma to supply both ongoing studies. We then have no more specific needs of plasma coming from donor who recovered from COVID 19.
Nevertheless, your plasma remains very precious. It can help people with serious bleeding and is used to produce medicines than save many lives.
To go on giving your plasma, you can make an appointment in your usual plasma collection center.

If you feel you have any symptoms (even symptoms that are not related to the COVID 19 virus), or a piece of information which you did not or forgot to tell the doctor, please immediately call the “post-donation” phone number you were given at the time of your donation. The duty doctor taking your call will assess the situation, advise you on what to do and, if necessary, have the blood bag in question destroyed.

You can become a Red Cross volunteer.

Your moral support means a lot and is every bit as welcome! Send us your messages, drawings, photos or videos at info@croix-rouge.be and we distribute them around among our staff. With your permission, we will publish some messages on our Facebook page as to encourage other expressions of support. 

You can call us at 0800 92 245 from Monday to Friday, from 08:30 to 16:30, or send us an e-mail at info@croix-rouge.be or visit our Facebook page.